The British Heart Foundation have accelerated their plans to reopen their shops

The British Heart Foundation have accelerated their plans to reopen their shops, with 400 opening this week. 

The trial opening of over 40 shops has been so successful that it’s accelerated our reopening plans across the country. 395 shops will open this week, with a further 299 planned next week. 

BHF are urging the public to support us by donating good quality items, or by popping in to snap up a bargain. Every item donated or sold will aid them in recovery from the crisis, which we predict will cut their net income in half this year.

Mike Taylor, Commercial Director, said: “Our charity shops run purely on the support of the public, which is why we treasure every person who shops with us or supports us. Every item we sell helps fund our vital research.

“The coronavirus crisis has had a devastating impact on our income meaning we are in urgent need of public support and donations to continue our research. Each pound raised in our shops helps us to support the 7.4 million people in the UK living with heart and circulatory diseases, many of whom are at increased risk from Covid-19. Your donations can help us, help them.”

The temporary closure of our 750 shops has had a devastating impact on the income of the charity:  as the UK’s biggest funder of cardiovascular research, the crisis has cost around £10 million a month. This could limit future funding for research and delay important scientific breakthroughs.

This drop in income has coincided with a significant increase in demand for the charities  services, with calls to their Heart Helpline increasing by 400% at the peak of the pandemic as it became clear that people with heart and circulatory diseases were at increased risk from Covid-19. 

With other leading medical research charities, we're calling on the Government to match charity-funded research for the next three to five years to ensure the pace of progress can be maintained. 

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, our Chief Executive, said: “Our shops fund a huge proportion of UK cardiovascular research, so the reopening of doors is welcomed news for thousands of scientists and millions of people with heart and circulatory diseases, as well as our shoppers. This moment was difficult to imagine just a few weeks ago, and its testament to the incredible commitment of our BHF team of colleagues and volunteers that we’ll be trading in every corner of the country within two weeks.  

“But the coronavirus crisis will unfortunately have a long-lasting and devastating impact on charities like ours, with our funding for new research falling by a shocking £50m this year alone. That's why, not only do we need urgent help from our loyal supporters, we’re also urging the Government to ensure funding for vital research charities. For us, it will mean we can protect the progress we have made so far and continue to transform the lives of those with heart and circulatory diseases. It’s ultimately patients who will suffer if this doesn’t happen.”  

Our shops and stores will have new measures in place to keep staff, volunteers and customers safe. This includes social distancing on the shop floor, protective equipment for staff and volunteers, and facilitating contact free collection and processing of donated items.

To find out more about the British Heart Foundation and how you can get involved visit https://www.bhf.org.uk/.

Just £16 worth of your donations can support an early career scientist in carrying out an hour’s research and £25 gives a researcher an hour’s access to equipment. If your donations raised £100, this would fund a DNA extraction kit to identify genes linked to heart and circulatory diseases.

By Ellen Jones